(CNN) -- At least a dozen people were killed when a mudslide buried a bus on a Guatemalan highway Saturday, authorities said.
Heavy rains in the past day have caused landslides across Guatemala, according to a statement posted on the government's website. At least 17 people have been killed and at least 20 have been injured during the storm.
President Alvaro Colom declared a national emergency Saturday, the statement said.
He told reporters that authorities closed parts of the Inter-American highway after rains washed out some of the road.
Thousands of homes, in addition to infrastructure and fields of crops, were also damaged by the heavy rains, Colom said.
The torrential downpours come several months after more than 150 people died when Tropical Storm Agatha hit Guatemala in May.
CNN
